


magician's codex

by volna (seductrce)



Series: tumblr prompts: shadowhunters edition [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec is super gay, Alec visits a show and gets too involved tbh, Alec's about 27 I'd say? Magnus is maybe 31 not older, Assistant!Clary, M/M, Magician!Magnus, Magnus is classy but when is he not, poor child, there's an undefined age gap here let me think...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-09 22:48:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7820254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seductrce/pseuds/volna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec Lightwood didn’t believe in magic.<br/>Alec Lightwood believed in illusion. As a sceptic, Alec always wanted to be surprised. Entertained. Just because he didn’t believe, it didn’t mean he didn’t want to. Enchantment. <i>Mirage</i>.<br/>One day, Alec didn’t find magic. Magic found him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	magician's codex

**Author's Note:**

> [ANONYMOUS ASKED:](http://dearestalec.tumblr.com/post/148118641842/i-want-a-magicianmagnus-fic-with-clary-as-his)  
>  I want a magician!Magnus fic with Clary as his assistant and they go around doing shows together and Magnus is super dramatic and Clary is really funny and they have amazing show chemistry and its great and Alec, Jace, and Izzy go to see one of their shows and after Alec is talking to the Magnificent Magnus ((Jace and Izzy are talking to the cute redhead, both trying to vie for her attention)) and he's just so mystified because it looks so real?? And Magnus asks if he wants to see a close uptrick and Alec is like hell yeah!!! So Magnus does this really long and complicated card trick and Alec watches with intent the entire time, determined to figure it out, and finally Magnus pulls out a card and Magnus is like “was your card the king of hearts???“and Alec is like damn son!! It was!!! And so are u ;))  
> \-------------------------------------  
> So I took this and ran with it, basically. ANWAY. this one and three more and then i swear I'll try to fill the ones waiting in my ask box.

Alec Lightwood didn’t believe in magic.  
Logically speaking, magic could not exist. Rationally speaking, it shouldn’t. Alec being both, had no trouble to decide for himself that magic, delivery of a result using supernatural powers that was, was not real.

What Alec believed in firmly, was the human flaw. Magic might not be real but deception was, and humans, wanting to always believe in something wondrous happening for whatever philosophical reason (and Alec was sure there were several), let themselves be deceived.

Alec Lightwood didn’t believe in magic. Alec Lightwood believed in illusion. As a sceptic, Alec always wanted to be surprised. Entertained. Just because he didn’t believe, it didn’t mean he didn’t want to. Enchantment. _Mirage._

One day, Alec didn’t find magic. Magic found him.

*

“Izzy, this better be worth skipping the first show of Legendary Luke, or I swear to God-”

“You know, Jace, you could be a little more supportive here. I spent all day hunting down these tickets just so we could see the Magnificent Magnus’ last show! We can always go see Luke tomorrow and honestly? Do I have to show you the advertisement again?”

“Alright, you two, enough,” Alec finally spoke up, annoyance laced into his tone, pressing his heels into the melting pavement outside the theatre hall. The queue was seemingly endless to both in front and behind of them. Magnificent Magnus was either extremely good at magic or extremely attractive. Possibly, he thought, remembering the ad, both.

Alec’s patience was running thin. All day, Jace and Izzy had argued, making the same arguments over and over again.  
Jace was intent on seeing “Legendary Luke” live, a performance art magician who was less focused on traditional magic tricks and more on escapadery. Dangerous stuff that wasn’t really deception, at least, apparently, not in his case. Underwater liberations were performed in glass tanks unobscured by any kind of curtain; no one knew how he did it and that was the truly magical part - Legendary Luke did things that an ordinary man should not be able to do, and yet - being one- he did them anyway.  
Isabelle, on the other hand, wanted to go see the Magnificent Magnus, a more traditional kind of magician who performed classics with a twist that was, on account, so exceptionally good at his trade that he was, soon after appearing on stage three years ago, crowned king of the business. As Izzy had told them, the man had fan bases all around the world, fan sites and collectors and petitions to advocate for his performances in this country or that.

Alec didn’t mind seeing either, really, since he was interested in nothing but the simple act of impossibility, and him deconstructing it, and so, he had kept his mouth shut through most of the argument. Izzy’s point, as it really was Magnificent Magnus’ last Florida performance of the year, was better and both him and Jace knew this - as they knew she would never give in, advantage on her side or not.

Jace, next to him, blew air into his cheeks and, on the exhale, stretched to see the entrance and gritted his teeth.  
“Fine. We’ll see Luke tomorrow, then, whatever. But why the hell is this taking so long?”

The sun was just setting, swallowed up by the city, invisible in the alleyway they were standing in, but Alec didn't mind, having watched the last three Miami sunsets, resting on the sand by the water, drinking cool mojitos and listening to music, while his sister was slow dancing with some guy around a bonfire and Jace was napping leaned back in a lounger, face covered by a hat, ignoring the advances of girls sitting in pleasant to behold arrangements by his side.  
Despite the hellish Florida heat, their vacation was turning out to be a good one, filled with attractions and sightings of real life gators and taking endless rows of pictures of Isabelle showcasing her different outfits; with clubbing and Cubanos and lone relaxing walks by the ocean at night, and magic.  
The only negative was the sunburn Alec had gotten on his first day, shoulders still red and burning days later.  
Izzy sighed and adjusted her posture. “This is taking forever, isn’t it? Why is the line not moving at all?”

“Maybe there’s no show,” Jace jeered, smirking in ugly fashion and Izzy threw him a look of disgust.  
“Don’t say that. I’m sure they are just…experiencing difficulty.”

As it turned out, both of them were somewhat right.

As the night was settling around them like a summery coat on bare sun-tanned shoulders, a limousine rolled into the alleyway. It was a sleek black thing, not as long as most and looking much more elegant; carefully, the driver aligned the car with the walkway and then got out.  
All of a sudden, the place was filled with security, guards who had spilled out of the theatre to now hold the waiting people back on both sides, allowing for a passage to be formed.  
Alec wondered, briefly, if some celebrity enjoyed magic tricks and last-minute shows like they did Broadway musicals when the driver opened the back door and a graceful leather-clad leg kicked out of the car, setting a shiny boot down onto the pavement with precision.

The man emerging from the inside was nothing short of gorgeous; Alec’s breath caught in his chest as he thanked whatever deity responsible for his height. Isabelle was probably blind with the people around them. Not so, Alec.  
He recognized him, of course, from the advertisement banners Izzy had consulted earlier that day: Magnificent Magnus, or Magnus Bane, had caught Alec’s eye even then but truth be told and heard, no photograph would ever do him justice.  
Magnus was wearing a dark tailored blazer over a deeply cut silken shirt of rich burgundy like spilled wine; his exposed chest was accentuated with necklaces hanging down to his navel and Alec couldn’t help but let his eyes follow them all the way down.  
Fine, maybe this show was worth a visit for more than just magic tricks.

Gracefully, Magnus stepped away from the car’s door to hold out a hand to a beautiful doll-faced red-haired girl dressed in a tiny black dress, who climbed out of the limousine behind him. Assistant, Alec guessed.  
“Cute,” both Jace and Isabelle, who was crouching low to get a peek through the bodies of people, exhaled softly, and Alec sharply wondered how at the sight of Magnus, they could focus on the girl.  
Then again, neither of them was gay.

Magnus, still holding the girl’s hand as if she were his dance partner, guiding her along, moved past the barely held back row of people screaming his name, signing an autograph here and there, smiling coyly and speaking little. A fan kept talking to him in quick Spanish and Magnus replied with a gentle expression to him, looking enigmatic and, well, magical - as if an impenetrable aura of careful distance was surrounding him, masking every word mystery.  
With a last smile he finished his autograph on the fan’s arm and then, suddenly and with a sharp movement that reminded of an animal rather than a human, snapped his eyes up. For a moment, Alec stared right back into them and Magnus smiled, chin lifting, before moving into the theatre, gone as swiftly as he had come, followed by a dozen guards dressed in uniform blacks. With a push, the people waiting reformed their line and promptly, it was moving again.

“Seems like the superstar is in the house.”

For once, Alec thought, cheeks tangibly hot for reasons unknown, Jace might be in the right.

*

“For my next act, I would like to ask someone from the audience to please come up to join us on stage. Any volunteers?”

The hands around Alec shot up like arrows, straight into the air. Yells of “here” and “me” grew louder and louder; Jace kept screaming “OI!” and Izzy screeched a little hysterically, standing on her feet rather than sitting.  
Leaning back in his miraculous third row seat, Alec continued to stare down at the stage where Magnus was walking up and down slowly, palms turned outward in a benevolent gesture, smiling. Clary, as that was the red-haired girl’s name, was sitting on the edge of the stage, legs dangling, waving at the people with a scrunchy-nosed face that made her look like an adorable bunny.  
The crowd continued to go crazy around him, a good hundred people calling out, and Alec could not blame any of them in the slightest for wanting to participate. He had come to see some cheap illusion tricks and confirm his own disbelieve; instead he was being thoroughly…entertained. The magic bit might be the main part of the show but not its focus, as that lay, clearly and gratefully, on Magnus.

He moved with unmatched elegance, dramatic lights and music accompanying his performance as he made objects of various sizes and beautiful assistants dis- and reappear, sometimes in his own palm, sometimes - as in Clary’s case - just three rows up from where Alec was sitting with his siblings. When the spotlight had hit Clary sitting in the one empty middle seat of the row, the crowd had gasped as one and Alec had felt his own chest grow with an exhale and almost something like an unbelieving whistle. How the hell did she get up there when just a moment ago she had been right next to-  
Alec’s head had snapped back to focus his attention, eyes narrowing, on Magnus, who had been leaning back against the supplies table, arms crossed over to hug his own biceps, smiling. He had looked content, like a cat having been served its cream.  
Yet again, their eyes had met over the crowd and by then, Alec was not counting it as accidents any longer.

The first time it had happened had been right at the dramatic opening sequence that had introduced Magnus and his assistant in the most intriguing way possible - by hiding them in plain sight. The stage had been empty, empty, empty, and suddenly, a ring of fire had appeared, drawn into the air as if by a ghost, accompanied by fitting sound effects that only enhanced the feeling of danger and impossibility about it. The ring had hung in midair, unsupported, a burning circular torch, until a leg had stepped through it in similar fashion as it had out of the limousine earlier.  
And then Magnus had been out on stage, immaculately dressed, ringed hands working the fire apart until it had been a form big enough for Clary to step through and join him on stage, undisturbed, as if through a portal. Where they had come from in the first place remained unclear since all that had been visible through the ring of fire had been the backdrop of the stage. Magnus had snapped his fingers and the flames had crackled up to a single ball before disappearing in a puff of exhausted smoke.  
That had been when the crowd, baffled from the start, had begun clapping and cheering wildly, and Magnus’ eyes, streaking through the rows of seats, had met Alec’s for the first time. Or second, really, but that one didn't count.  
It’d been a moment only and since Magnus' didn’t stay within his gaze for too long, Alec had assumed it had been coincidence.

Now, he knew it was not true. Or at least, by now it wasn’t. Magnus continued to find him like picking a shining needle from a stack of hay, again and again, and his smile was growing both softer and more challenging each time it was for Alec; it seemed genuine then, real as the others didn’t, as if Alec was special in some way - as if Magnus actually recognized him over and over. It couldn’t be, it made no _sense_ and yet…

“Well, I see most of you are very eager…”

To be frank, Magnus’ voice was a highlight of its own and by now Alec was glad he had not stepped onto Jace’s side in the earlier argument. This show was more than worth it. And even if just for the shivers running down his back every time Magnus opened his damn glossed-up mouth.

“So, why not invite a sceptic into our midst? Young man, third row-”

Jace’s face lit up at the words, since Magnus was looking right at them, and Clary swung her long legs in a mermaid’s fashion back onto the stage, pulled to her feet in flawless performance by Magnus, whose timing was down to the point.

The music and crowd quieted down around them as Jace got to his feet proper.  
“Sure,” he supplied, eyes flying from Magnus to Clary, throwing a hand into the air to show he understood.

“Oh,” Magnus then said, as if surprised, and Clary shot him a quick look, not giving away anything, which was already enough of a give-away. Alec didn’t miss a thing. He had vowed to himself, he would figure out at least one trick tonight.

“I’m sorry, darling, but you sure do seem quite eager. I might hurt you accidentally with what I have planned. No, I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to-” and just like that, he pointed a finger, nail dark with polish, unmistakably at Alec.

“You.”

Beside him, Isabelle gasped. Jace, turning to him, raised an eyebrow, sitting back down with a slightly offended "go ahead" gesture.  
Alec leaned forward a little, elbows on knees, looking at Magnus. Magnus' head rocked to the side.

“Well?”

There was too much of a challenge in it. It was like asking if he dared to stand on one foot for three seconds. Too easily won. Alec got up.  
For a second only, Magnus exhaled a laugh, almost inaudible through the wireless microphone sitting snug along his jaw.  
It was over before Alec could blink, but something about it-  
Alec could feel his neck prickling, and not entirely, as he tried to make himself believe, from nervousness.

Stepping up onto the stage, he was met by Clary who smiled at him, warm and genuine.  
“Don’t be scared, alright? He doesn’t bite. On stage, that is.”

“I’m not scared,” Alec replied with an amused head shake, and let Clary lead him towards the center of the stage. He understood, of course, that he was now part of their show, having to play along.  
When he turned to look out at the audience, he was surprised how dark it really was. All faces lay in shadow, no expressions were truly readable. With difficulty only did Alec locate Izzy and Jace, both staring at him, sporting similar excited pouts, and thus he wondered: how the hell did Magnus find him every last time and so pinpoint spot on? There was no way - unless you memorized the exact seat the person had taken. But that was improbable, why should Magnus…

“Now, darling, what’s your name?”

Magnus had stepped up to him, swaying a little as Alec had already learned was his way, and for a few spectacular seconds of absolute embarrassment, Alec couldn’t catch a breath. Up close like this Magnus was just-  
There was at least one reason, Alec now understood, why he was called Magnificent Magnus, that had little to do with magic. Unless you counted his face to be proof of its general existence.

Dark eyes framed by darker liner, skin a beautiful deep brown, enhanced in dewiness by shimmering golden bronzer, lips just this side of glossy cherry red.  
Stage make up was usually, Alec knew from experience, too much. Unnatural. Ugly, even. Magnus was- the opposite of that.  
A few blinks passed, and only under Magnus’ expectant gaze did Alec pull himself together.

“Alec.”

“Alec,” Magnus repeated, almost too quiet, as if to himself, and then continued on naturally. Pretended acquaintance.  
“Well, Alec, let’s play a little game, shall we, you and I? It won’t be anything too complicated or dangerous in itself but- if at any moment you feel uncomfortable, please do say so.”

Alec nodded, opting for professional this time. Despite himself, he was oddly curious what kind of game Magnus meant. Or maybe, by now, his scepsis had mellowed down, and if not about the magic part than sure so about the quality of entertainment guaranteed. Magnus knew what he was doing, and quite obviously so.  
The ever-present music grew a faint rhythmic drumming, the spotlight a narrow circle around them, basking the rest of the stage in effective darkness. Clary, Alec noticed, was invisible even to him.

“Would you mind,” Magnus then asked, and there was a teasing edge to his voice, as if he was about to play with a kitten he knew he outsmarted, “a game of cards?”

Producing a simple deck from the inside of his blazer, Magnus turned to the crowd, holding it up before giving his wrist a flick and letting the cards fan out in an impressively elegant yet controlled motion. The audience’s groans turned into noises of approval.

“Now, now, my little cabbages…”

And just like that, Magnus yet again re-established the familiarity between himself and his audience. It was cleverly done, Alec had to admit. He had felt enticed by the show but he had also, subconsciously, felt an emotional bond grow as he had watched Magnus perform magic of all kinds on this very stage.  
The audience had become a family of sorts, with Magnus as their gorgeous magical uncle who brought cocktails and entertained the room with his bachelor stories and coin tricks. Everyone pretended to love each other. Everyone, actually, loved him. Magnus, next to Alec, laughed softly. Even being a good inch or two shorter, he was dominating the space inside their circle of light like a mountain would a hill. Alec was no one beside him. He became someone when Magnus turned to wink at him over his shoulder, a small exclusive moment, not exactly necessary, private, invisible to the crowd. Just for Alec.

“I know, you might think card tricks are…lame.”

Magnus’ hands moved over the deck, pushing it back and apart in intricate movements. It was hypnotic to watch. With difficulty, Alec pulled his eyes from Magnus’ glimmering hands.

“But I promise you, you will have fun with this one. Now, Alexander,” and Alec felt tension shoot through him as if he hadn’t been tense before, gaze snapping up. How did Magnus know his-  
“Please confirm that this one is nothing but an ordinary deck of cards, 52 on count.”

After a second’s hesitation, Alec stretched an obedient hand out, palm up, and without breaking the ever-established eye contact, Magnus put the deck into Alec’s waiting hand, fingertips just barely brushing Alec’s skin. Barely, unsurprisingly by now, was enough. Everything felt itchy, suddenly, a small wave of shivers running up his arms, terribly unpleasant, in need of repetition.

Magnus smiled encouragingly and again Alec had to blink a few times to refocus. Collecting himself, he looked through the cards, heart hammering in his chest as if running on an overdose of caffeine. As far as he could tell, it was an ordinary deck. Exceptional quality. German as it seemed. The back was a pattern in red on white.

“Well?” Magnus asked and, out of nowhere, there was a microphone in Alec’s face, held out by Clary who was smiling amiably from the shadows, barely visible. With self-consciousness in every syllable, Alec leaned forward to speak into it.

“Ordinary deck, nothing wrong with it.”

He didn’t voice his suspicions, of course. This was supposed to be a show, after all, and he didn’t need everyone to figure the trick out. Just himself.

Pushing the cards together into a messy pile, he held the deck out on his palm again and Magnus, catching his hand in between his own two, pulled the cards right off. The cool metal of his numerous rings was contrast to the warmth of his fingers against Alec’s skin. Again, there it was, a barely suppressed a shiver, even though the touch had barely lasted longer than a heartbeat. One of normal speed that was, since Alec’s was racing in his chest like one of the sleek beauties he’d seen on the streets of Miami, 0 to 100 in an instance, at the touch of a pedal. Sincerely, Magnus smiled at him. Alec swallowed, mouth too dry.

“Very well. An ordinary deck of cards. 52 of them. The game we will play is very easy, indeed. Our dear Alec will draw three random cards, knowing what they say when I won’t. After, I will pick three cards and Alec will confirm or deny if those cards were his. Basic, really. Are you ready?”

Turning back, Magnus smiled at him again, this time with a cheeky little smirk to it, and Alec, staring, nodded.

“Bring it.”

Into the middle of them, having to almost nudge them apart to fit, stepped Clary. She was a tiny thing compared to himself, delicate in stature, with a smile like the sun and hair the color of burning fire. Carefully, she took the deck of cards from Magnus and began shuffling.  
Magnus, in the mean time, walked over to the edge of the stage, as far away from Alec as possible, and, facing the audience, explained.

“After shuffling, Clary will offer you the deck of cards. You will pick three in total. The most important part is that you remember all three and the order you pulled them in.  
Say you pull the 6-7-8 of Spades in a row. Then you must remember that you pulled the 8 after the 7 after the 6.  
The first two cards you will pull, look at, and put back into the deck. The last card, you will keep on your body. In a pocket, if you have one. Do not show anyone but yourself the face of your card. Do not say your card’s value out loud, unless I explicitly ask you to. Are we clear?”

Magnus’ voice had risen and with it had the quiet but dramatic music playing in the background. He was talking to Alec in theory but to the guests in practice and while he was looking towards the audience, Alec could look nowhere but Clary’s hands.  
He had not expected it, but she was shuffling the deck so masterfully, her hands seemed to vanish with it, making the process an artistic performance, clearly designed to rise agitation in anyone seeing her do it.

Alec’s heart was beating like crazy, blood rushing in his ears.  
It’s a simple card trick, dumbass, he chided himself and yet couldn’t help but wipe his hands on his jeans to make sure they wouldn’t be sweaty. Then, with an abrupt flick, Clary spread out the cards in a perfect semi-circle in front of his nose. In perfect timing, Magnus voice set it.

“Please now, Alexander, pick one card. Look at it. Memorize it. Put it back into deck.”

Trying hard to keep his hands from shaking and not accidentally ruining the trick, Alec ran his palm down the neat line of cards before picking one at random. Carefully, he lifted it, making sure no one else could see.  
Ace of Diamonds.  
Just as carefully, Alec pushed the card, face-side down, back in between the others, though, on a whim and last second, into a completely different place from where he had picked it from.

Again, Clary shuffled, quick and fluent this time - an efficient move. The crowd was so quiet Alec could hear his own barely contained breathing, and theirs. The music, he noticed, was almost gone. Again, a perfect semi-circle. Again, Magnus' voice.

“And now, Alec, please pick another card. Look at it. Memorize it. Put it back into the deck.”

This time, Alec didn’t hesitate. Swiftly, he pulled a card, revealing to himself the Jack of Spades. Swiftly, he put it back.

Clary shuffled a last time, smiling up at him warmly. She seemed genuine which only made Alec all the more suspicious. How the hell would Magnus find his cards in that deck. Did his sweat leave some trace? What was going on?  
A last time, a semi-circle.

“Finally, Alec, I want you to pick a last card. Look at it. Memorize it. Do _not_ put it back into the deck. Place it somewhere onto your body, be it a back pocket or front pocket or your shoe. Try to keep it as unharmed as possible, though, darling.”

On an exhale, Alec pulled a last card.  
Nine of Clubs.  
After a second of contemplation, he pushed it, face-side to his thigh, into the back pocket of his jeans. He’d notice if someone would try to touch his ass, that he was sure of.

Clary folded the deck back close and smiled again, before stepping from him.

“We are done.”

And so, the music and with it, Magnus returned, having held his position far off to the side to avoid any exposure. He strode over, let the deck fall into his hand from Clary’s on clear display to the audience, before asking her to please take her seat on the stage where he had been standing before. No other words were exchanged between them. Nothing was passed. Alec’s eyes were sharp and focused. He wouldn’t let this one slide, not when got to be this close.

For some reason, he was more than sure that Magnus would pull the right cards from the deck. He just, desperately and for himself, needed to realize _how_.  
In his hand, Magnus let the deck sit, moving it up and down as if trying to estimate its weight.

“Oh, darling, nice cards you have pulled, I dare say. Easy to remember, aren’t they?”

He smiled over to Alec, and Alec frowned. How did he-

“Your first card. Think of it, just shortly. Bring it to your mind, so we are clear. Good, good, well done. Now-”

And Magnus’ eyes left him, sadly, to travel into the audience.

“Young lady, first row. Yes, you right there. Please join us at the edge here. I will ask you to confirm something that you will get to see. Alright. Please take the microphone there so we will hear you. Yes, very well.”

A dark-skinned girl with a blond afro and a golden lip piercing down the center stepped up to the edge of the stage. She looked up at Alec and his eyes, looking into hers, met the same brand of confusion. She wasn’t trained, Alec was sure of it. She was an actual guest, just like him.

“Now, Alec, could you step a bit closer to the young lady so she will be able to have a good look at you. Very nice. Alright then, please tell us. What was the first card you drew?”

Having no microphone to speak into, Alec cleared his throat, and said, loudly, so it would carry: “Ace of Diamonds.”

“As I thought. Now, if you are not uncomfortable with it, could you please raise the front of your t-shirt?”

At that, Alec angled his chin back over his shoulder, heart running wild. Magnus smiled at him, with complete lack of all emotion, face blank as a piece of paper. What?

“Only if you are not-”

“It’s fine.”

Turning back to the crowd, staring straight ahead, Alec tugged at the hem of his black t-shirt, lifting it all the way up to reveal, as he was unashamed to admit, a lean set of abs. The crowd gasped as one. Behind him, Magnus spoke.

“And so, young lady. Can you tell us what you’re seeing?”

The girl cleared her throat and, with Alec frowning down at her, spoke. “A card.”  
_What_?

“Please elaborate, dear. Where is it? What card?”

“There’s…there’s a card stuck to his stomach. It’s- it’s the Ace of Diamonds.”

For a moment, there was utter stunned silence. Then, the audience exploded into noise. The music picked up, the amazed laughter and whooping grew and everyone clapped, the sound of palms hitting palms over and over rough and intense and deafening.

Magnus must have nodded at her dismissively since the girl, after a look to something behind him and a last, intrigued one, at Alec, made her way back to her seat, immediately leaning in to whisper to her accompaniment.  
Alec was still standing rooted to the spot, dumb-struck. Slowly, he let his gaze fall and there it was. Sticking to his abs, red on white against his tan skin, was the Ace of Diamonds. He peeled it off. The card had the exact same quality as the one he had picked. It looked the exact same. How did he not notice...how did it even-

Turning back to Magnus, Alec narrowed his eyes. Quiet in the cheering, avoiding the microphone, Magnus asked, “Is that your first card?”

“Yes,” Alec answered, quieter still, just for Magnus, hearing the weight behind his own words. “Yes, it is.”

He had no idea how Magnus had done it.  
With a smirk that said everything and nothing, that could be read “Are you entertained yet?” and “This isn’t even close to what I could show you.” and “I do regret not getting a look at your abs…”, Magnus pushed away from the table edge he had leaned against, watching the effect of the success play out. Gesturing at the card in Alec’s hand, he said “Keep it,” and then, walking to the edge of the stage, Magnus raised his beautiful hands, and the crowd quieted down as if someone had turned the volume to zero.

“Well, that was nice to look at, wasn’t it? Let us then, search for our second card. Where could it be? In the deck? On Alec? On Clary? On...me?”

Still holding the deck in the same hand, not having examined it any further, Magnus looked himself up and down, arms outstretched, pirouetting as if to mock his own idea, before stopping abruptly, to look up at the ceiling. With a collective shift, everyone followed his gaze. Alec, determinedly, stared at Magnus.

“Ahhhhh, I see it now. How terrific.”

With a snap of his fingers, a spotlight was turned into the audience. To Alec’s surprise, his own empty seat was at the center of it.

“You two. The young gentleman who had wanted to come on stage. Young lady. Are you with Alec?”

Izzy and Jace, clearly surprised, exchanged glances.  
“Yes,” Alec answered for them, making his voice carry so they wouldn’t have to.

“Both?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. Young man. In the seat next to you, the one that belongs to Alec, there should be a jacket. Could you fetch it?”

Bewildered, Jace looked over at Izzy, and then down into Alec’s seat. Right there, Alec knew, was the jacket he had pulled off the moment they had taken their seats earlier that night. Jace, glancing from Izzy to Alec to Magnus, picked it up.

“Very good. Now please, hold it out so it will be easy to search. Yes, exactly like that- now could the young lady, please, what is her name?”

“Isabelle,” Alec supplied without hesitation. What on earth was Magnus thinking he was doing?

“Oh, such beautiful names, both of you. Well, Isabelle, could you please find me Alec’s wallet? It should be…”

At that, Magnus leaned his face into his free hand, eyes closing as if in thought.  
“...The right inside when worn. Two pockets are there. Choose the one closer to the zipper. His wallet. Supple, out of brown leather. Take it out.”

Following the instructions precisely, Izzy did just that. There it was, his wallet, exactly where Magnus said it would be. Alec couldn’t look away from Izzy’s hands. There was no way-

“Alexander. Please, darling, be so kind. Tell us your second card.”

Not averting his gaze in the slightest, Alec spoke. “Jack of Spades.”

Magnus, next to him, laughed softly.  
“Jack of Spades. One of my favorites in the deck. You were lucky with your cards, really. Wonderful collection. The fourth will be a good addition to the set. Now-”

Fourth? What was Magnus talking about?

“Isabelle. Please open the wallet. There will be a pouch for change on the right. The left will hold credit cards. Flip that side open. It should flip. The flippy part. Third incision from the top. Please tell me, is there a card?”

Everyone, including Alec, was staring at Izzy, who was, hands shaking visibly, taking the wallet apart. With a soft yank, she pulled a blindingly white card from the exact pocket Magnus had called. It was not a credit.

“Please show us the card. What value does it hold?”

Isabelle’s voice, contradicting her hands, was clean and ringing. “Jack of Spades.”

Into the silence that followed, Magnus giggled. “Excellent. Please, keep it.”

As the crowd erupted into another attack of confused delight, Alec watched his sister sit back down, wallet in her lap, staring at the card. Then, up at Alec. Meeting her eye, he saw that she felt what he felt. What all of them did. This was impossible. This was, by all laws known, completely impossible. No one had touched his jacket. No one had moved close to it. No one had ever left it alone to be manipulated. It couldn’t be.  
And yet, there the card was, snatched away now, by Jace, who examined it from all sides. As the spotlight moved from them, Alec was left with his brother's disbelieving face to mirror his own emotions.

Slowly, he turned to face Magnus.

“How did you do that?”

“How did I do what, Alexander?”

Earning his grandiose applause, Magnus bowed a little and kept smiling at the crowd, before turning to Alec.

“All I did, was find your card.” A cryptic smile, Alec was granted. Explanations were rolling like marbles in his head. Not one made any sense.

“Alright, everyone. Last one and then this ridiculous little game of cards will finally be over. As you will maybe remember, there is, at this very moment, a card on Alec that is not the Ace of Diamonds. It is the last card he picked and stored on himself. Do you remember that card?”

Nine of Clubs. “Yes.”

“Good. Now, let’s see, if we can find it.”

Walking up and down the stage, hips swaying with the motion, Magnus held his free hand out to the audience, as if scanning the guests. His other was still holding on to the original deck. Alec was, above all else, confused. The card was in his back pocket. It was easy enough to guess.

Again, Magnus stopped abruptly.  
“Ah,” he exclaimed softly, like an exhale, looking out at the audience, “found it.”  
This time, he didn’t look back.

“Alec. Please check the place you had your card stored. Something tells me, it might have taken a trip. Is your card still where you put it?”

Alec’s hand flew to his butt, sliding into the pocket he knew the card was in. Nothing. Other pocket. Nothing. He wasn’t mistaken. The card should be there. And yet-

“Nothing.” Alec couldn’t keep the disbelieve from his voice. No one had stepped close enough to even so much as touch him. Where did the card go?  
His eyes flew out to the crowd.

“It is not there, then? Let’s see. Please name two numbers between 1 and 20, will you?”

Taken aback, Alec answered without thinking: “Five...Sixteen.”

“Alright. Fifth row. Who of you has seat number 16?”  
A girl got up, wearing a flowery dress. The spotlight, more mellow this time, hit her.

“Dearest. Please name a number between 1 and 20.”

The girl blinked twice. “Twelve.”

“Twelve…And you, young man, name a number.”

The spotlight moved to where Magnus was pointing. An elderly man with grey streaks in his beard, clearly surprised to have been picked like that, blurted out: “Three.”

“12 minus 3 equals 9, well then, you there-”

And so it continued. Seemingly randomly, Magnus picked person after person, subtracting, multiplying and adding the numbers they called. It couldn’t be that all of them were involved in this trick. In fact, Alec distinctly remembered quite a few of them from the line outside, having waited alongside him and his siblings.  
After a good twenty people, a last number was called by a middle-aged Asian woman dressed in a summery top: “Nine.”

“23 minus 9 equals…14, right?”

The crowd nodded with Magnus. So did Alec. What was the goal of this?

“Very well. Let’s go back to row number 5. Who has seat number 14, please?”

A young man got to his feet eagerly. A moment in the spotlight was a moment of full attention.  
“Let’s see then. Alec. Please tell us the last card you had picked.”

“Nine of Clubs.”

“Nine of Clubs. Wonderful. Young man of row number 5, seat number 14. Please check your left back pocket now. There should be a card, there. Tell us, which it is?”

The whole room turned audibly to face the dark-haired boy of maybe seventeen years of age. With apparent nervousness, he reached back, and pulled from his pocket, incomprehensibly, a playing card. Looking at it, his eyes went wide as moons.

“Well?”

“Nine of Clubs, Magnificent Magnus, Sir.”  
The boy sounded baffled to indescribable extent.

Again, as the crowd broke into the most deafening applause and cheering yet, Magnus smiled warmly. “Keep it.”

Walking over to where Clary had been sitting all this time, grinning, he pulled her to her feet elegantly, and together they bowed again and again to seemingly never ending clapping and whooping and chants of “Magnus, Magnus, Magnus”.

Clary, then, having received her round of applause, walked over to Alec and led him to the steps leading down the stage, dismissing him from duty. It was hard not to trip and fall; Alec kept staring back to where Magnus was being praised, waving modestly, for absolute mind-blowing impossibility.

Smiling, Clary handed Alec two things.  
“He wants you to keep it,” she said, crouching in the shadows by the edge of the stage, just to him.  
“Thank you for helping out. You were amazing. Here, this is a backstage pass. You and your...friends, you can come behind stage after the show. Look around. Talk to him. There’s a little extra, too, but he will tell you himself. Thanks again.”

Dumb-struck and hands full, Alec stepped down the last steps, before, looking back, he snapped and turned. “How did he do it?”

Clary laughed then, amused but friendly.

“I can’t tell you. You’ll have to ask for yourself.”

And she left, walking back up on stage, leaving him standing in the dark. Alec, unable to look anywhere else, kept gaping at Magnus - could hear him saying something but couldn’t quite make sense of the words.  
As Magnus turned to walk the length of the stage, arms outstretched, their gazes, in a moment seeming less and less impossible with everything Alec had witnessed that night, caught. It was then that Magnus winked at him, a dubious smile painting just a flash of raw desire across his face.  
In Alec’s chest, a coin fell as if onto pavement. The sound it made was crystal clear.

*

The show went on for another good hour. After settling back down and checking the deck in his hands, Alec confirmed the three cards missing were the exact ones he had pulled in the first place. The backstage pass Clary had handed him was distinctly labeled. Access granted, for up to five people.  
Alec’s heart jumped to clog up his throat. The excitement he could feel sitting in his chest and bones at the prospect of getting to see and talk to Magnus up close once more, for real, had only partly to do with discovering the secrets of his magic. The longer he considered, seconds dragging on, the smaller that part grew.

From then on, him and Izzy and Jace actively participated in the rest of the show, trying to catch every interactive element. More people were asked on stage as Magnus performed mind reading and levitation, as he stitched limbs back together and impaled bodies and souls on swords and thoughts.  
Leaned forward in his seat, shoulders and back a brick wall, Alec never stopped watching him with hawk eyes. And yet, he not once saw anything to give a trick away. The acts themselves were, as advertised, classics; the twist of impossibility to them was what made the whole show go from well executed to exceptional. Alec didn’t understand, but somehow, in a moment of subconscious self-discovery, he found himself believing.

As a last trick, after saying his “Thank you!“s and “Goodbye!“s, after throwing air kisses upon air kisses into the audience and reminding them to please donate to the collector for the "Magnus Bane charity for Indonesian kids in needs" on their way out, Magnus drew up another circle of fire by simply running a finger through thin air.  
He then pulled the circle bigger and bigger as if able to touch flame with bare hands, until it was enough for the live tiger on leash, and Clary with it, to leave the stage as if through a portal yet again.  
Magnus himself stepped through it carefully. His legs vanished, were cut off mid-thigh where the line of fire ran across. He waved one last time - a faint whisper of “Remember: stay magnificent!” drifting like a scent in a breeze - before pulling the circle close from the other side. A single wisp of smoke curled up towards the ceiling like a promise. The stage was empty. The crowd applauded for minutes after. Even when his palms burned with the sting of clapping, Alec didn't stop.

*

“Sir, yes, this is the pass. Through here? Thank you.”

Pushing the heavy backstage double-wides open, following the security guard through another, Alec, Izzy and Jace made their way down a long, lovely lit corridor with doors upon red velvet-studded doors lining one side of it.  
The floor was soft carpet. Alec tried to keep from grinning. Trying didn't help much.

“Alright, Izzy, I give it to you. That was so worth it.”

Jace’s voice was full of genuine shock and delight. Alec could imagine how he felt. He himself had never seen anything like the last two hours before, in his life. He had never wanted to-

“I told you so in the first place,” Izzy answered, not sounding nearly petty enough. Clear as day, she was dramatically shaken herself, rapture drawing an ecstatic grin onto her face.  
“Can you believe we will get to meet him? I can’t believe it. He was _spectacular_. That was absolutely-”

Out of one mouth, Alec and Jace breathed out: “Yeah.”

Right then, the security guard stopped in front of a door sporting a small rectangular plate. Black labeled on gold. “Magnus Bane”.  
When the guard knocked, Alec could feel his heart giving out to the thump-thump-thump of it. His knees felt like jell-o, unable to support him properly. This was ridiculous. He had to calm down from this giddy, childish stupor. Immediately.

The door opened and there stood - Clary. At the sight of them, she smiled brightly and threw a look back. “They’re here!”

“Excellent. Let them come in, will you. Don’t be so rude, biscuit.”

With the sound of Magnus' voice, undisturbed by the microphone, Alec felt his palms break out into sweat again. As inconspicuously as possible, he wiped them on the sides of his thighs. Clary, rolling her eyes and grinning more broadly now, pulled the door open and let them step inside.

The room was enormous. One half of it was a sitting area of sorts, a big couch made for three, several squishy armchairs, a table overfilled with fruit cut up in extravagant shapes on heavy silver platters and, on a pedestal and thus elevated to open sight, a bucket of ice, holding a bottle of expensive looking champagne.  
The other was dominated by a vanity, maybe eight, maybe ten feet long, tucked into a corner. Flowers were everywhere, their scent sweet and decadent and filling the room like perfume.  
In the chaise in front of the grande mirror, illuminated in sophisticated fashion by the surrounding bulbs, dressed in shorts, a floating see-through tunic and a silken robe, sat Magnus.

At the sound of them entering, he twirled slowly, naked legs balanced mid-air.  
His hair was still shower-damp, face now make up-less, smooth flawless panes and twinkling eyes. Coming to a halt with a start, Alec grabbed Jace’s shoulder for support.  
Clary herself was wearing thick socks, pajama bottoms and a tank top, long hair pinned up in a high, curly ponytail. With a movement fluid as water, Magnus got up.

“Welcome, darlings, welcome. Thank you so much for coming. I hope you enjoyed the show?”

“Yes,” Izzy, after a moment of staring in utter awe, breathed for all of them, standing in the entrance like thunder-struck, unable to move.  
There was something untouchable about both Magnus and Clary, as if knowing what they were capable of created a barrier around the entity of them that only the worthy were allowed to breach.  
The feeling broke away when Magnus, bare feet soundless on high-fibered carpet, moved close enough for Alec to catch a whiff of the scent of clean shower gel on him.  
Leaning down, Magnus put forth a hand Izzy took willingly and barely pressed his lips to her knuckles, bowing.

“I am delighted. Magnus Bane. It’s a pleasure to finally see such beauty up close, Isabelle.”

Izzy just blinked at him, full mouth coming apart, when Clary moved in to grab Izzy’s hand from Magnus' grip.  
“Stop flirting, Magnus, honestly. Hi, I’m Clary. Nice to meet you. Let’s go get a drink, shall we?”

Pulling a speechless Izzy from in between her brothers, Clary made her way over to the couch, offering Izzy a seat and turning on the TV in the meantime, switching to a music channel.

Magnus' now empty hand, palm up, hovered, directed at Jace.  
“I never caught your name, young man.”

“Jace. Lightwood.”

“Jace. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope," Magnus remarked with a quick glimpse at Alec, "you aren’t too angry with me for picking your friend here back with the cards.”

Jace’s eyes were burning fire. He kept glancing at Clary and then, back at Magnus. Biting his lips, he shook Magnus’ hand, with more enthusiasm than Alec remembered him showing in months for anything else.

“Brother. And not at all. You’re- You’re genius.”

Magnus laughed softly in response and Alec was suddenly grateful for Jace's words.  
“Oh, thank you. Really not, but I appreciate the compliment. Please, join the ladies, if you like. There’s a fridge over there, it should contain whatever drink your heart might desire.  
Or pop the champagne, actually. Success fancies celebration.”

For a few seconds, Jace gaped at him before, with a push, letting go of Magnus’ now ring-free hand and moving on to sit with Clary and Izzy, engaging into their conversation immediately, as if having known the girl for years and not minutes. Clary laughed and both Izzy and Jace laughed with her. Alec almost wanted to roll his eyes. Those two were just so _transparent_...

“I’m glad you could make it.”

Magnus’ words, soft-spoken and enticing, pulled at him like a vortex. Black hole. Within moments, the others were forgotten. Nothing mattered but the rushing sound in his ears at the drum of his heart and Magnus, standing in front of him, barely dressed. Too beautiful to process. Alec knew he was staring. He tried hard to stop.

“Yeah, we- Thank you. For the pass. We didn’t expect that.”

“Oh, please, this was the least I could do. You helped me out a lot on that stage. Everyone was so focused on you, things went rather smoothly, didn’t they?”

Alec gaped, eyes roaming. Focused on…him?

“You-, your show, it was-, just- you’re...magical.”

At that, Magnus began laughing out loud, a clean and clear sound like bells ringing, lovely and pleasant and full when genuine, and Alec’s ears went hot enough for him to be able to tell, a warmth that pushed all the way from them to his toes. Magnus' nose scrunched up with the pleasure of amusement. The lines around his eyes crinkled. Alec was burning up. Terribly so. The corners of his mouth pulled up in a manic grin he couldn't help.

Calming down, Magnus put his naturally pink lips into a neat little bow that drew Alec’s eye, and then, smiled.

“Well, thank you very much. It is magic I practice, after all. Can I offer you something?”

A date. A kiss. Dinner for two. The secrets to the card tricks. A hand. Both hands. More of that ringing laughter. Anything. Alec swallowed heavily. “Whatever you have.”

Magnus’ smile turned benevolent, generous and full, as if specifically for him, which - Alec realized belatedly - it was. His eyes, on the other hand, jumped to Alec’s mouth and right back up to meet gazes of certain, heated quality in silent but unequivocal conversation and Alec really needed to get his hands on either a glass of something heavy or him-  
Truth be told, he already felt like he was drunk, chest heaving, head spinning - intoxicated; as if he didn’t have himself under control, _at all_ , which was- rare was a bad word for the concept of something so non-existent. Yet, ever since stepping into the room...

“Magnus-”

The name, for the first time from his tongue, tasted sweet and addictive. Magnus' head, him having glanced over to assess the seating situation, turned back from the others swiftly, and the way he looked at Alec then, full of attentive curiosity and well-exposed coquetery, made Alec consider that maybe, he would get to say it more than this once.  
And so, for good measure, not even knowing what he wanted to speak of in the first place, Alec opened his mouth again.  
“Magnus, I...I don’t, I still don’t- How did you-?”

“You know I can’t tell you, Alexander. Magician’s codex. At least,” Magnus said, holding out a hand that Alec, after a second’s hesitation in which his brain short-circuited effectively, took into his, “not while I’m sober enough to not let someone,” and Magnus’ eyes roamed his face at that, “coax all the secrets right out of me. With the right methods, of course.”

Wildly, Alec grinned. And even if all of the hints dropped during the performance had been just his imagination playing him, this, whatever it was that Magnus pulled up between them, thumb rubbing along Alec’s knuckles almost, and yet just _almost_ unnoticeably, voice layering distinctive things one over the other that all added up to the one, indisputable fact, definitely wasn’t made up.  
For some reason, Alec remembered that this was Magnus' last show in the area.  
For that same reason, Alec decided to say "fuck it" for tonight. He was in too deep, by now, anyway, drowning in this, and simply not willing to come back up.

Before Magnus could pull him away, Alec stepped in, just a foot, to already be close enough to have their bodies lined up, connecting at the hips. Magnus’ head tipped back a little in surprise, glancing up, and so, Alec leaned in carefully, each inch measured.

“Methods like…these?”

The murmur was faint against Magnus’ ear, he knew, barely audible, probably - more of a whisper than a mumble. The music kept playing. The others, from far away, from another dimension, broke into laughter again. The bottle of champagne popped with a distinctive sound, just as Jace said: “Dinner with Legendary Luke later? Hell yeah, we’re in. I didn’t know you guys are friends- Assistant claiming to be a vampire-?”

Alec’s lips didn’t quite brush the shell of Magnus’ ear on the pull-apart, but it was close. Much too close. They might as well have.  
Heavily, Magnus exhaled a hot, shaky puff of breath that hit Alec’s neck, making shivers run down his spine all the way to pool in his loins, and thus, Alec stepped half a step back. His hand, still in Magnus', had unconsciously changed position and now their fingers slipped from in between each other’s back to a normal hold.  
Magnus blinked up at him, brown eyes shining, clearly surprised. Clearly not negatively so. Clearly something _more_. His cheeks were tainted faint pink, color barely visible; his mouth came apart on another tangible exhale to reveal a hint of the glitter of tongue.  
Alec shared the sentiment, dazzled by his own daring, and thought he might be losing his mind. Never had he ever wanted to have someone this fast this badly-

“Yes,” was all Magnus answered, “like these,” words striking ignition to fire in Alec’s veins. There it was, a laid out invitation.

“Dinner planned, huh?”

“Dinner planned, yes.”

“You doing anything after?”

That was when, with a grin that robbed him of his magician's charm and granted a boyish one much more lethal than it, Magnus gained back control. His hand twisted in Alec’s, grabbing his wrist to finally pull him to the seating arrangement and push him, surprised as he was, into an armchair, before leaning over from behind the back rest and Alec’s shoulders for a private whisper that made Alec's hands, curling into the arm rests, itch to touch. His head tipped to the side, to grant better access, without permission - eyes almost falling close with the alluring hushed sound of Magnus' voice. This was more than an invitation. This was an offer.

“Hopefully, not something.”

And then, straightening: “I’ll be right back. Someone, please fill Alexander a glass of champagne, will you. He’s dying of thirst and I really can’t have that.”

Isabelle’s giggling rang for minutes.

*

“Pick a card.”

Alec groaned. “Really? Here?”

Magnus smiled delicately. “I promised four to complete the set. Pick a card.”

Leaning up on his elbow, Alec dropped a kiss onto Magnus’ bare shoulder before pulling a random card from the spread open deck, a familiar semi-circle. He just wanted to take a peek when Magnus shook his head.

“Wait, don’t look yet. I’m going to guess.”

Breathless, Alec laughed. This was not magic. This would be luck. A chance of 1 in 52. Nobody should be able to do this.

“Guess, then, oh Magnificent.”

Following an overt roll of them, Magnus closed his eyes for a moment, stacking the cards back together blindly, yet in thoughtful fashion. With a quick glance, Alec caught a glimpse at the one he was holding face down. Oh.

“I say…King of Hearts.”

It was too much.

“That’s impossible.”

“Am I right?”

Dramatically, Alec flipped the card down onto the sheets pooling in Magnus lap. It was, of course, the King of Hearts.

Magnus giggled. “Told you. A set.”

“This,” Alec proclaimed, picking the card up and holding it up as if to showcase before pressing closer, “is impossible, you hear me?”

Lips brushing, Magnus let a hand slide into Alec’s hair, pulling him in for a proper kiss, deep and everlasting, like oceans and endless summer skies.

“One day you will learn that nothing is impossible to me.”

As they rolled over, the deck of cards slipped from where Magnus had left it sitting on the edge of the bed, tumbling down to spill on the hotel room floor like domino pieces. The King of Hearts was buried between the sheets where it had fallen from Alec’s hand. Neither noticed. Neither cared.

**Author's Note:**

> there's been ppl who have asked me to write more in this universe and I honestly got no idea WHAT YALL WANT TO READ bc the possibilities are so endless (angst? fluff? SMUT? i mean we could have the one where alec becomes the assistant for a night or the one where magnus uses sex magic(tm) or the one where magnus moves away after that one night and alecs job calls bc vacation is over and they lose each other bc long distance doesnt work and they never truly tried bc everything went so fast and then a year and a half later magnus has a show in alecs city and alec is a lowkey kinda masochist so he decides to go see him and magnus has turned even more beautiful if anything and alec watches him intently and when its time to pick an assistant magnus, without hesitation, plucks alec out of the crowd and things roll from there?) so if you have a request: shoot me a comment or ask on tumbls PLS


End file.
